*sigh*, I wish this was happening faster! But between not actually being allowed to move in to this house yet (the convoluted web of city permitting is infuriating), grad school, and daily commitments, I'm getting maybe one solid evening a week to work on it.
Anyway, here's an update, and I hope everyone has all sorts of comments on my rock work, because I'm not totally sold on it.
Kevin came over last week and installed my R/O unit:
Because I'm impatient, I immediately filled the sump with R/O water. It took a day and a half.
I also picked up up some plexi and cut long, 5 inch high stripes and caulked it to the euro-bracing
There was a small gap between the euro-bracing and the framing for the doors above that would have allowed splashed water to seep under the frame structure and run down the front glass of the tank. There was also a 3 inch cavity in the frame itself that I had visions of jumping wrasses getting trapped in. That's all sealed up now.
Then I went overkill with the sand:
8 bags was excessive. I needed 5. Note to self: I bought enough to give me a 3 inch sand bed without rock.
Then on Friday I picked up 207 pounds of Marco rock from Kevin at RCC. Note to anyone who's ever wondered: Yes, Marco rock WILL punch large, unsightly holes in the leather of your car's back seats. Take appropriate precautions.
I didn't have the tools or the patience to do any fancy drilling of the rock, so what you see is simply rocks that are resting on top of one another. I hate the 'pile o' rocks' look, so I really tried to avoid that, while creating at least two major cavities that can't be seen from either side of the tank for a larger fish to sleep in (they're against the overflow boxes), and a relatively open structure, with a central 'canyon' down the middle. I'm not 100% sold on it, so any input would be appreciated. The plan is to eventually add about 50 pounds of real live rock from Walt Smith, so I'll likely end up removing some of the Marco rock (or sending it to the sump) rather than just adding 50 more pounds, as it's already a little cluttered for my taste.
Dining room FTS
DR south end
DR north end
I'm not as happy with the office side, but also keep in mind that without real lights on, the shadowing from the room makes the office side look WAY more like a 'pile o' rocks' than it does in real life.
Office side FTS
OS South end
OS north end
And here's how it looked when I shut the R/O unit down on Friday (I'm now in saskatchewan for a family thing)
